The Woman in the Seal Skin

Name: The Woman in the Seal Skin
Price: 34.99 AUD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9781923293328

Will she answer the call of the sea?

Lauren Keegan

$34.99

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English

Affirm Press
31 March 2026

Fiction & Literature; Crime & Mystery; Historical fiction

A wonderfully atmospheric and compelling historic novel set in Scotland in 1695, from the author of All The Bees In The Hollows. Based on the selkie myths of the time, this is the story of Malie, a young woman struggling with grief, oppression, her relationship with nature and her own inherent wildness within during Europe's 'little ice age'.

Malie grew up hearing tales of selkies: shape-shifting women who shed their seal skins to seduce fishermen on the Orkney shores. That's the story of how her parents met, and it must be true because one day her mother slipped into the sea and was never seen again.

Raised by her father, Malie has always done what she's been told, and now she's married and expecting her first baby. Life on land is predictable and safe, and her future is all mapped out for her. But, just like the seals in the sea, there's a wildness in Malie's soul – one that cannot be tamed and deeply yearns for the sea.

Dealing with themes of motherhood, grief, violence and female oppression, The Woman in the Seal Skin is a wonderfully haunting and atmospheric tale of a woman living in a cloistered community on a wild Scottish island, who one day meets her wildness within.

By: Lauren Keegan
Imprint: Affirm Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
ISBN: 9781923293328
ISBN 10: 192329332X
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 31 March 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Lauren Keegan is an author and psychologist living on Dharawal and Gundungurra Country (Wollondilly, New South Wales). She has worked in perinatal and infant mental health for fifteen years, has two young girls and drinks more tea than is sensible. She is the author of All the Bees in the Hollows, which was voted Best Debut Fiction at the 2025 Indie Book Awards and longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize 2025. This is her second novel.